HARRISON HANSEN is turning back the clock on a career that has covered just about every base in the game.
The 38-year-old prop forward will start his 21st season as a professional Rugby League player this year and he insists he feels stronger and hungrier than ever.
Hansen won two Grand Finals and two Challenge Cups at Wigan and has won and lost Million Pound Games with Toulouse and Leigh, experiencing the incredible highs and lows of promotion and relegation.
He’s represented his birth nation New Zealand and captained his international heritage side Samoa. So what else lies ahead for the popular professional who has seen and done it all?
“Let’s do it all again,” he tells League Express with a beaming smile.
“It’s funny, I met up with Sam Tomkins over Christmas and he said he first asked me if I was ready to retire back in 2013, but I genuinely feel like I could do it all again.
“I’m hungrier than ever and I’m really fortunate that my body is in good nick; it feels just as good as when I started out.”
Coach Sylvain Houles has described Hansen as a ‘cult hero’ at TO and says his senior star and skipper turns up to training every morning with a big smile on his face.
“It’s infectious, he inspires everyone around him and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was still playing in another ten years’ time,” says Houles.
Even Hansen agrees that may be beyond him, but he added: “I’ve been lucky in that I’ve not had too many major injuries and the ones I did have happened earlier in my career.
“I see players retiring all of the time, younger than me, and people keep asking me the question. But I will play for as long as my body will allow me.
“I will know myself – when my performances start dropping then I’ll hang up my boots. Until then I’m enjoying my time at Toulouse, we love living in this city, and there is a massive challenge and potential here.”
So where does the hunger come from, that same appetite he took from Wigan (2004-13) via Salford (2014-15), Leigh (2016-18) and Widnes (2018-19) before landing in the south of France in 2020?
“It’s the old cliché that you are a long time retired. But more than that, I genuinely still love training and playing and I never foresaw this French phase to my career, so it all feels like a brand-new challenge.
“When I do finally hang up my boots, and I’ve already talked about this with Sylvain, I would love to stay involved at Toulouse in a staff capacity, especially helping to develop young players.
“My family’s happy and settled, the boys are in school and my eldest has his exams this year; we’d love to continue our lives here.
“When we first arrived it was tricky, in a new country with a new language. But we’ve slowly adapted and now I can see it was the fresh start that my career needed.
“I’d played a lot of rugby at a lot of clubs but this was a brand-new experience with a completely different culture. I had to learn new things for the first time in a long time.
“The pace of life is more relaxed. Although we train hard it’s enjoyable under Sylvain and that’s why I’m still playing and still hungry.
“I’ve been here four years now and it’s gone in a flash. Obviously Covid gave everyone a break from playing and I think that helped the older players to catch their breath and rejuvenate.
“All of those factors have added to my longevity in the game.”
Hansen played in the 2021 Toulouse team that gained promotion to Super League but was promptly relegated the following year. Defeat to London Broncos in last season’s Grand Final was another disappointment but Hansen believes there is a bright future ahead for the Olympians.
He adds: “It’s a great challenge. We’ve got a brilliant new Chairman who will build upon the excellent work of former President Bernard Sarrazain and our goal as players is to simply get out there, reach a Grand Final and win it.
“Olivier (Dubois) has taken over and he’s been with us for some time now. He introduced himself early to the players and he really mixes with the boys, which is great for the team.
“He’s got some fantastic ideas and he’s brought a freshness to the club; Bernard built a solid platform of hard-earned success and Olivier will take us further.
“He’s young, dynamic and energetic and we all feed off that. Players respect a hands-on owner and he’s the right guy to take us into Super League.
“Everybody is aware of the massive potential of this club and we’ve got the right tools now with a clear pathway ahead of us.
“We’re really focused on the controllables; anything else isn’t worth the effort.”
Toulouse have been selected as one of the better category B clubs in IMG’s provisional gradings for a potential 2025 Super League and Championship structure, meaning a position in the top flight is within reach.
Does that take the pressure off Hansen and his team-mates? “Not at all,” he insists.
“The way we see it is, they have named us as tenth in the ladder but we can’t afford to rest on that.
“Sylvain reminds us every day that other teams are after our spot. Our rivals are improving their position on and off the pitch and we have to do everything in our power to be better, faster and stronger in all aspects of the club.
“Against the odds we reached the Grand Final last season. Nobody wants to lose a game but maybe it was a blessing in disguise.
“After the gradings we knew we had a certain period of time to be ready for Super League and, although we are in good shape at the moment, I don’t think we’re 100 per cent ready.
“There would have been a lot of pressure to recruit and rebuild but this is better for us at this stage, there is no need to scramble for random new players.
“It’s not about numbers, it’s about getting the right people in at the right time.
“We have to be honest – no-one expected us to make a Grand Final last year, even ourselves, because we had such a small squad.
“Our rivals sensed it and they ripped into us and we lost a few games. Everyone was raving about Featherstone, which seemed to galvanise us.
“It’s much better flying under the radar. There’s nothing better than adversity to build team spirit and we ended up in the final. It’s incredible really, and we take all of those strengths into this new season with the addition of some new players.
“Paul Ulberg (former London Broncos winger) is awesome; he carries the ball so strongly, he’s got a lot of what we were missing last year. James Roumanos is a really powerful prop from Australia and we’ve got a couple more names in the pipeline.
“At the same time we’ve got some great young French players coming through, Dimi (Dimitri Biscarro) is such an exciting prospect, while Benjamin Laguerre and Robin Brochon are really stepping up.
“As senior players we love seeing the young guys push through, they inspire us and we hope to guide them and the junior and Academy sections of the club are really blossoming at the moment; that is the future of Toulouse Olympique.
“We will need them because this year in the Championship is going to be brutal. Wakefield are going to be an incredible force under their new owner and they are recruiting well.
“Featherstone will be as strong as ever and they are rebuilding their squad. Every single club will be busting a gut to improve their rankings this year and it’s going to be ferocious.
“We’ve got a really long pre-season with a couple of months still to go, and we had pretty much everyone back on day one. At the same stage last year we had just five players training.
“We’ve got a really healthy squad and there is a really competitive mood among the players.
“We’ve got Adam Milnes back as our strength and conditioning coach and he works so well with Sylvain, so there is a really tight feel within the group.
“There is clarity and a single purpose under an ambitious new regime here and the players are feeding on it. We know the potential of this club in this city and we are on the right trajectory.”
